Plastic traveler



Aug. 17, 1943. w. M. CAMP 2,326,833

PLASTIC TRAVELER Filed March 31 1942 V/NYL ESTER POLYMER V/N YL ES 75/? POLY/75R I v INVENTOR. W////'am IV. aim 0 ATTUR/VEYS Patented Aug. 17, 1943 PLASTIC TRAVELER William Camp, Glen Ridge, N. J., assignor to The Clark Thread Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 31, 1942, Serial No. 437,043

9 Claims.

This invention relates to travelers which are used on spinning and twisting frames in the textile industry.

In the past, travelers have been made of either steel or bronze, the bronze being used mostly on wet twisting, where the presence of water makes it undesirable to use steel. These travelers rotate around the ring at a high speed, and in the case of twisting where the drag on the traveler is heavy it is necessary to provide lubrication between the traveler and the ring, this taking the form of an oil or grease. Even under conditions of good lubrication, wear takes place on the traveler and also on the ring and the fine particles of metal which are worn oif become embedded in the grease and are subsequently oxidized and thus form visible stains on the yarns or threads. These stains consist of oxides, carbonates, soaps, etc., of the respective traveler and ring metals, and are very difficult to remove in the ordinary processes of kierboiling and bleaching.

Many attempts have been made to make travelers of materials, other than steel and bronze, using materials including hard rubber and glass. These materials, however, have not been satisfactory because of their brittleness and poor resistance against wear.

It is an object of this invention to provide a traveler possessing properties which have long been sought, including the following:

1. A longer life than steel or bronze travelers.

2. Requiring less lubrication than steel or bronze travelers or no lubrication.

3. Producing little or no wear on the steel ring and therefore obviating the contamination of the yarn or thread referred to above.

4. Corrosion resistance, to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

The invention will be further described by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows one type of conventional ring with a traveler mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 shows a traveler for use with the ring of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows another type of conventional ring with a traveler mounted thereon; and

Fig. 4 shows a traveler for use with the ring shown in Fig. 8.

In accordance with the generic aspect of this invention, travelers are made from vinyl ester polymers. In accordance with a more specific aspect of the invention, the travelers are made from a vinyl ester selected from the group consisting of the copolymer of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride, the polymer of vinyl chloride and the polymer of vinyl acetate.

The details of preparing polymers and co polymers of vinyl esters including the use of various plasticizers and the control of the molecular weight within desired limits are known to the art and can be varied considerably, in the light of this invention, to secure polymers adapted to meet the preferred criteria of said invention. These criteria are, briefly, a combination of resiliency, shock resistance, abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance.

Resiliency is required because the jaws of the traveler are usually sprung apart in mounting the traveler on the ring. Toughness and impact, or shock resistance, are required to avoid undue breakage. Abrasion resistance is required to avoid undue wear and corrosion resistance to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

Having obtained the vinyl ester polymer possessing the desired properties, the traveler is made therefrom by molding from molding material or machining from extruded or otherwise pre-formed stock. No details as to structural form of the traveler are necessary because the various shapes and forms of travelers are well known now, and no details of molding, extruding or machining need be given since the art of molding, extruding and machining polymers and copolymers of vinyl esters is well known.

However, in some cases, it may be desired to provide a traveler having a metallic core and a wearing surface comprising or composed essentially of a vinyl ester polymer or copolymer. This may be done, for example, by using a steel or alloy core or insert and molding the vinyl ester polymer composition around said core, so that the latter is embedded in the resulting molded product.

I claim:

1. A traveler the wearing surface of which comprises a vinyl ester polymer.

2. A traveler the wearing surface of which comprises a copoiymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate.

3. A traveler the wearing surface of which comprises a vinyl chloride polymer.

4. A traveler the wearing surface of which comprises a vinyl acetate polymer.

5. A traveler composed essentially of a vinyl ester polymer.

6. A traveler composed essentially of a copolymer of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride.

'7. A traveler composed essentially of a polymer of vinyl chloride.

8. A traveler composed essentially of a polymer of vinyl acetate.

9. A traveler having a metallic core and a -wearing surface composed essentially of a vinyl ester polymer. WILLIAM M. CAMP. 

